Kodagu is a small District rich in coffee plantation and
have beautiful sceneries of forest, rivers and tourist places comprising of
three taluks and have the population of 5,45,322. Kodagu is having the
total area of 4102 Sq kms.

Physical Feature:Kodagu is a hilly area. Madikeri,
the district Head Quarters is above 1270 meters from the sea level.Its physical features are full of diversity.
It has valleys, plains, lush green forest, paddy fields, coffee
and cardamom plantations. It is called the “Kashmir of
south India and Switzerland of India". It is known for its
scenic beauty and attracts tourists in large numbers. River Cauvery
originates fromKodagu.

GENERAL PROFILE
(courtesy SSA KODAGU DISTRICT)

1. Geographical area in sq km:4102 sq. km.

2. No. Of Revenue Blocks:03

3. No. Of Educational Blocks:03

4. No. Of Gram Panchayats: 97

5. No. Of CorporationTown:01

6. No. Of Madikeri Urban
Development Authority:01

7. No. of Town Panchayaths:05

8. No. Of Assembly seats:03

9. No. Of Villages:303

10. No. Of Habitations:605

11. Percapita Income: Rs.3535/- per annum.

The percapita income of the
District is Rs.3535. The district is composed of 3 taluks
namely Madikeri, Somwarpet
and Virajpet. It has 1 Madikeri
Urban Developement Authority, 5 town panchayats and 97 grampanchayats,
which includes 303 villages and 605 habitations. It has 16 hoblies
and 60 hospitals. This district has 3 educational blocks namely Madikeri, Somavarpet and Virajpet.

Weather: The weather of Kodagu is cool
and pleasant. It is situated in Western
Ghats.
The average rain fall is about 2725.5 mm. Rain fall is more in the months of
June, July and August

Forests: The area of Kodagu (Coorg) is 410775 hectares, out of which 134615 hectares are
forests. It means about 33% of the land is covered by forests. The Government
gets a lot of revenue from this forest area especially from teak.People interested in Botany, Zoology,
Agriculture, Horticulture and wildlife love to visit these forests.

Life Style, Culture
&. Specialty: As per 2001 census Kodagu (Coorg) is small not only
in area but also by its population. There are people of different castes like eravaru, kudiyaru, kurubas and tribals along with
corgis (kodavas). It has large population of schedule
caste also. Kodavas are the people living in Kodagu (Coorg) having some
special features of their own. There is no definite theory about the original
place of Kodavas. Even though there is no historical
proof, there is no doubt that Kodavas belong to a
very old civilization. They are having a life style and culture of their own,
which is very special and attractive. Even their customs are also very special
and attractive. This community has givengreat personalities like Field Marshall Cariappa
and General Thimmaiah to our nation who are regarded
as patriot sons of India & many more officers and jawans
to the army.

Huttariyakunitha, bolukata,
ummathata, kolata, olagathata and kathiyata are some
of the folk dances of the Kodavas.

Festivals: Cauverysankramana,
shivaratri, huttari, kailapoladu, shashti and vishusankramana are some of the important festivals of Kodagu (Coorg). Kodavas have their own special way of dressing during
festivals and marriages. The men folk will have a jaripeta,
black long coat and will have a silver sword in their waist. The women folk will
wear beautiful and attractive sarees and dress in
their own special attractive way.

Language: They have their own language known as "Kodava language". It has no script of its own. It is a
combination of Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. But the words of Kannada are more.
AppaneravandaAppachakavi
and NadikeriyandaChinnappa
are the two important poets and writers of Kodava
language.

Important Kodagu Festivals:
Kodavas follow Hindu customs. Indian festivals such
as shivaratri, ugadi, sankramana and shashtiareperformed. In
addition, they have their own festivals like Kailapoladu,
Cauverysankramana and Huttari. All these three festivals are performed in entire Kodagu (Coorg). The two Gods,
which they pray more, are the Mother Cauvery and Iggutappadeva.

Sanctuaries: To the North-west of the source of river Cauvery is the Talacauvery Wild
Life Sanctuary. The other sanctuaries in Kodagu are
the PushpagiriWildLife
Sanctuary and the Brahmagiri Wild Life Sanctuary, NagaraholeNational
park; a
protected area of worldwide repute is also situated in Kodagu
and is a part of the Niligiri Bio-Sphere Reserve.

Temples: The Omkareshwara
Temple in Madikeri, the temples in Talacauvery, Rameshwara Temple in
Irpu, PadiIgguthappa Temple
at Kakkabe, Ayyappa Temple
at Virajpet, Sathyanarayana
Temple at Nellihuddikeri, Palurappa
Temple at Palur are some of the important temples in Kodagu. Apart from this every village in Kodagu has a temple with its own unique features.

Industries: Industries enjoy a pivotal place in the economy of the
district. There are several large and medium small-scale industries in the
district. The major industries in Kodagu are Coffee
Curing industries, Spices, Honey and Wax products. There are about 38
Industries and 1680 workers in Kodagu District

Medical Facilities: There are a very
few medical facilities in Kodagu district both in Govt and Non Govt sectors. There
are 7 Allopathic hospitals, 18 Nursing homes, 27 Primary health centers, 6
Community health centres, 2 Mobile tribal health
units and 3 primary health units are working in this district.

B.DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Table: -1.1

TABLE SHOWING THE
POPULATION - KODAGU DISTRICT

Sl
No

Block Name

Area(in Sq km)

Population

1991

2001

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

1

Madikeri

1449

64200

63200

127400

70987

71025

142012

2

Somwarpet

999

91700

90800

182500

102739

103182

205921

3

Virajpet

1646

90900

87600

178500

101105

99523

200628

Total

4102

246800

241600

488400

274831

273730

548561

Source: - Census of India 2001

Though the area of Madikeri
and VirajpetTaluks are
wider, due to the geographic pattern the population is less when compared to
the flat and level surface of SomavarpetTaluk, Hence we find that from Table 1.1 that the
population is denser in this taluk.Table: -1.2

DETAILS OF POPULATION
SC, ST & TOTAL

Sl
No

Block Name

Total population

Total SC

Percentage

Total ST

Percentage

1

Madikeri

142012

14582

10.26

6908

4.86

2

Somavarpet

205921

31967

15.52

9201

4.46

3

Virajpet

200628

20873

10.40

30006

14.95

Total

548561

67422

12.29

46115

8.40

Source: - Census of India 2001

From the above table it is observed
that the SC population is more in Somwarpettaluk when compared to the other two taluks.
ST population of Virajpettaluk
is more than that of other two-taluks. More focus has
to be given to Somwarpet and Virajpettaluks.

Table: -1.3RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION
OF THE DISTRICT 2001

Sl
No

Block Name

Rural

Urban

Total

% Rural

% Urban

1

Madikeri

109516

32496

142012

77.11

22.89

2

Somwarpet

185515

20406

205921

90.09

9.91

3

Virajpet

178148

22480

200628

88.79

11.21

Total

473179

75382

548561

86.25

13.75

Source: - Census of India 2001

The population in rural area is about 86.25%
and population in urban areas is 13.75%. The reason being the rural areas are wider when compared to urban areas.
It is observed from Table 1.3 that comparatively the urban population of MadikeriTaluk is higher than
that of Somavarpet and Virajpet.

Table: -1.4

PERCENTAGE OF DECADAL
GROWTH

Sl
No

Block Name

Decadal Growth

%

Kodagu

1

Madikeri

11.09(+)

2

Somwarpet

12.85(+)

3

Virajpet

10.81(+)

Total

11.65

Source: - Census of India 2001

Thedecadal rate of Kodagu District is
11.65. This indicatesthe
positive impact of education on population growth.The decadal growth of the total
population is found to be highest in SomwarpetTaluk when compared to Madikeri
and VirajpetTaluk.

Table: -1.5

DENSITY OF POPULATIONAND SEXRATIO

Slno

Block name

Density per sq km

Sex ratio

Infant mortality rate

1991

2001

1

Madikeri

97

983

998

54

2

Somwarpet

206

989

1003

56

3

Virajpet

119

963

986

58

Total

113

979

996

57

Source: - Census of India 2001

It can be seen from the above table
that SomavarpetTaluk is
growing denser when compared to other taluks from
1991 to 2001.Density of population at SomavarpetTaluk is much higher compared to other two taluks. The male- female ratio is almost equal in Madikeritaluk ,the female ratio is less
in Virajpettaluk where as
the female ratio has exceeded male ratio in Somwarpettaluk. The
infant mortality rate is highest in Virajpet and
lowest in Madikeri and District infant mortality rate
is 57.The increase in sex ratio
indicates the positive trend towards girl children in the district.

Table: -1.6

LITERACY RATE OF
KODAGU DISTRICT

Sl.

No

Literacy Rate

1991

2001

1

MALE

75.35

83.80

2

FEMALE

61.22

72.50

3

SC

55.40

60.31

4

ST

29.27

36.25

5

TOTAL

68.35

78.17

Source: - Census of India
2001

The
literacy rate of Kodagu district is 78.17%. There has
been a gradual increase in literacy of male and female over a decade. The
district education profile clearly reflects the complex socio-economic factors
affecting education.